Long Beach Arts & Culture Abundant And Diverse
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LONG BEACH ARTS & CULTURE ABUNDANT AND DIVERSE
FIVE DISTINCTIVE MUSEUMS
Long Beach is home to an eclectic and diverse range of artistic and cultural venues with five distinctive art museums that house very different collections. The Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) features a 1912 Craftsman mansion perched atop picturesque Bluff Park. The adjacent gallery building houses a collection of ceramics, decorative arts and contemporary paintings. The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is the only museums in the U.S. that present cutting edge artists from Mexico, Central and South America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) showcases the diverse cultures from the Pacific islands. Located on the campus of California State University, Long Beach is the University Art Museum (UAM), a cultural institution that champions new and often challenging ideas through wide-ranging exhibitions and proactive programs. The Long Beach Historical Society Museum presents exhibitions on the history and culture of the city.
EAST VILLAGE ARTS DISTRICT
The vibrant East Village in downtown Long Beach is an emerging arts area. A stroll past the area’s historic buildings will reveal distinctive shops and galleries showcasing sculpture, paintings, ceramics, jewelry and designer clothing. The City of Long Beach has shown a deep respect to its architectural heritage, preserving dozens of historic turn of the century buildings and homes. The East Village also attracts residents and visitors to its coffeehouses and stylish restaurants.
FUNKY FOURTH STREET’S “RETRO ROW”
On Fourth Street’s Retro Row, “everything old is new again!” The three blocks between Cherry and Junipero Avenue is a step into the past with antique and vintage shops selling furniture, clothing and memorabilia. Even Hollywood costume and set designers shop Retro Row for vintage clothing and decor for TV shows and movies.
PERFORMING ARTS
Long Beach has its own Municipal Band, Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Orchestra, Opera Company and dozens of unique theater, dance, and music performance companies. The Performing Arts Center, part of the Long Beach Convention Center complex, has two modern, fully equipped theaters.
The 800 seat Beverly O’Neill Theater has been home for the International City Theatre Company for more than twenty years. This innovative theatrical group has amassed dozens of awards for acting, directing and design, and is nationally recognized for its creativity and excellence. The Long Beach Camerata Singers, Long Beach Opera, Musical Theatre West, and the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra also stage performances in the theater.
The 3,000 seat Terrace Theater is home for the Long Beach Symphony. The Terrace Theater also hosts numerous traveling companies performing Broadway musicals, concerts and dance performances.
The newest addition to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center is the Pacific Room at the Long Beach Arena. This first of its kind venue provides 45,000 square feet of fully flexible and customizable event space, and features built-in theater quality sound and lighting systems.
In other parts of our city, theatergoers can be treated to drama and comedy at The Long Beach Playhouse. The Carpenter Performing Arts Center presents a full schedule of theater, music, comedy and variety show each year. The city also has many homegrown theatrical companies such as CalRep, Found Theater, Garage Theater, and Long Beach Shakespeare Company.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Even history buffs will find something to see in Long Beach. Relive the glorious hey-day of Trans-Atlantic travel aboard the Queen Mary, whose public rooms and passage ways house one of the largest collections of Art Deco, or stroll through the rooms and gardens of two authentic and faithfully restored 1800’s Spanish ranchos. Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos both have fully restored adobe brick ranch houses and formal gardens.
ARTS AND CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS
Long Beach is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in American and that diversity is reflected in the number of cultural festivals that take place in the city each year. POW! WOW! Long Beach celebrated its second year in 2016, with more than 20 artists painting bigger than life murals on Long Beach buildings and other structures. In 2015 ten artists worked for a week painting giant size artworks on Long Beach buildings. Walking and driving maps are available online showing the locations of the murals.
Annual Long Beach festivals include the Long Beach Jazz Festival, Chill—The Ice Kingdom ice sculpture show at the Queen Mary, Queen Mary Scotsfest, Belly Dancers of the Universe International Dance Festival, Long Beach Pride Festival and Parade, E Hula Mau Hawaiian Chant and Dance Festival, Greek Festival, Blues Festival, Lobster Festival, Bayou Festival, Art Deco Festival. The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific also presents a full schedule of art and cultural festivals.
With its many artistic, historic and cultural options, Long Beach truly offers something for everyone.
About Long Beach, Calif.
Long Beach is a refreshing mix of urban sophistication with the atmosphere of a beach resort. Offering affordable, big city amenities alongside the visitor friendly charm of a small town, visitors will find first-class accommodations, shopping, dining, notable attractions: The Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, seaside sightseeing along picturesque bays and 5 ½ miles of sandy beachfront. Day or night, convention or vacation, it’s the best of all worlds—right in the center of everything Southern California has to offer. To plan your visit to Long Beach, go to www.visitlongbeach.com or call (800) 452-7829.
